The Mystery Known As : Girl
by InoFan07
Summary: Sasuke Uchiha just doesn't understand females.They confuse him.So he decides to solve this little mystery,by conducting an experiment of his own. He dates five different girls,with different personalities and attitudes.Learning a couple things about himself in the process. Eventually, he falls in love,but with which girl will it be? SasuSaku, SasuHina, SasuTen, SasuTem, and SasuIno
1. Chapter 1

Five different girls. Five different personalities. Five different chances at true love. Who will Sasuke choose? Please read and review!

Girls.

With their long, lavishing hair, their shining eyes and cute smiles, some say they are angels on earth.

Sasuke Uchiha said they were annoying, confusing, nail manicuring, waxing, eyebrow plucking, make-up wearing, giggling, nagging, screaming, PMS-ing freaks.

Well, he didn't believe all of them were like that. Some could be smart and funny. They could be good at sports, they could be good listeners, good friends.

Just not the ones he knew.

And never did he think he was better then them just because he was a guy. He was taught to respect women.

But he just didn't get them. They were a mystery to him.

And he did not like the feeling of not knowing stuff.

He was the last surviving Uchiha, he was a prodigy, the hearthrob of the academy and one of the strongest and smartest of the Leaf Village.

So he decided to figure this mystery out, and he wasn't going to rest easy until he did. After all, how hard could it be?

Half the girls in the village threw themselves at him ten times a day. They were always fawning over him, willing to do everything for him.

He figured all he had to do was date a couple of girls, each with different personalities and attitudes. He would date them for a week, and then dump them like a sack of potatoes. And that would solve the mystery know as... Girl.


	2. Chapter 2

Hope you guys enjoy!

Sasuke started out with an easy target. Sakura Haruno.

She was a girl on his team with long, pink hair and bright green eyes.

She was annoying, rude, loud, obnoxious, clingy, and immature.

Her features were pretty average looking. She came from a non shinobi family and had an ongoing rivalry with Ino Yamanaka.

Oh, and Naruto was totally crushing on her, and always asking her out (just to be rejected).

It surprised him that he knew so little about his teammate. She just never seemed important or interesting enough to get to know better. She never asked him to hang out, she only asked for dates.

She was always clinging to him and flirting with him, which annoyed him to no end. Maybe if she wanted him to like her, she could try making conversation, instead of giggling like an idiot.

Girls were so clueless.

He found her at the the flower shop, so he took a deep breath and walked in.

She was talking to the girl at the desk, whom he recognized as Ino Yamanaka.

She had beautiful, golden hair and pale blue eyes. She was pretty gorgeous.

She was a member of Team 10 along with Shikamaru and Chougi.

He heard she was one of the top graduates, along with him, which he always found impressive.

She was loud, and bossy, and always riling Sakura up, sometimes making her cry. Kind of like the way he always riled up Naruto. Without the crying part.

He told himself to focus on the mission.

He smoothly picked up a single rose from a shelf and handed it to Sakura.

"You know you have to pay for that." Ino said, irritated.

Sakura's mouth dropped open as she stared at the rose. "Sasuke!" She said, blushing.

"Are you going to take it out of his hands?" Ino mumbled.

Sakura gasped and giggled, accepting the rose.

"Go out with me." Saske said, flatly.

"Well that's romantic." Ino said sarcastically, cleaning a table nearby.

"Sureee." Sakura twirled her hair, trying to act cute. "Where are we going?"

Sasuke blinked.

"Well?" Ino asked, curiously. "You do realize you have to take her out somewhere, right?"

Well how was he supposed to know? He thought that meant she was going to be his girlfriend. Now he had to take her places? Seriously?

He widened his eyes at Ino.

She smiled sweetly. "I think Sasuke's asking you out to Kiba's party."

"Uh, yeah." Sasuke said.

"It's gonna be so totally wild! His parents are going to be out of town! And you know what that means." Ino giggled.

"There's going to be beer?" Sakura asked, frightened.

"No you idiot," Ino rolled her eyes. "There's going to be soda. I was just saying it's unsupervised."

"Oh." Sakura blushed.

How did she know so much about Kiba's party? Sasuke couldn't help wondering. Was she his date?

"I'll pick you up at seven." He turned to walk away.

Sakura grabbed his hands. "Wait. Let's hang out for a while."

Sasuke moaned.

Ino laughed and waved goodbye as Sakura dragged him away.

They went for a walk around the village. It was just such a nice, sunny day.

Sakura held onto his arm and stuck out her tongue at other girls, showing him off.

Like he was some sort of trophy.

They both got some ice cream and hung out. Talking and laughing. Sasuke was actually enjoying hanging out with her. Not because she was funny or cute, but because it was nice hanging out with a female who wasn't gushing all over him. Sakura always tried way too hard, which made her act like a total fangirl. Now that she thought Sasuke liked her, she was acting more chill.

They eventually found a carnival and hung out there. Sasuke played a couple of games, even winning Sakura a teddy bear.

"Oh Sasuke!" She hugged him. "I love it!" The bear was big and fluffy and soft. The words, "I wuv you", was inscribed onto a velvety sign that the bear was holding. Sasuke wondered if he would ever be able to say that to someone, and mean it.

As he glanced at Sakura, hugging the bear and squealing, he realized with a pang that he felt absolutely nothing towards Sakura. She was his teammate and nothing else.

So when it got dark, he dropped her home, avoiding the goodnight kiss she was expecting.

The next day, he met up with Sakura and Naruto at the Ichiraku Ramen store.

"Thanks for treating me to lunch Sasuke." Sakura batted her eyelashes.

"He's treating us to lunch?" Naruto asked, confused.

"He's treating ME to lunch. Because that's what guys do for a girl on a DATE." Sakura giggled, grabbing Sasuke's hands.

Sasuke pulled away and avoided Naruto's eyes.

They ate in awkward silence while Sakura babbled on and on about what she was wearing to the party and how she was doing her hair.

When she left for a second to go to the bathroom, Naruto was done keeping quiet.

"Okay Sasuke. What the hell was Sakura talking about?"

Sasuke looked away. He got so caught up with his experiment, he had forgotten Sakura was the girl of Naruto's dream.

"I'm the one who treats her nicely and compliments her. All you do is ignore her and make her cry. So why does she like you?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke hated hurting his best friend like this, but he had no other option.

Silence.

"Sasuke." Naruto said in a voice he had never heard before. "Are you dating Sakura?"

Sasuke felt nervous for the first time in his life, seeing his (former?) best friend so serious and angry.

"We hung out a little at that carnival yesterday and I'm taking her to Kiba's party later, it's nothing serious."

"Did you ask her? Or did she ask you?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke remembered the rose he gave her, and how he asked her out and won her a bear that said "I love you".

Sasuke opened his mouth. "I-"

Naruto socked him right on the mouth.

Naruto punched him a couple more times, and Sasuke just let him. Because he felt guilty, and he used the physical pain as a distraction from the emotional pain he felt hurting Naruto. Physical pain he could handle.

His bottom lip was soon an ugly bloody, bruise.

People began to gather, chanting, "fight!".

Sakura came out of the bathroom. "OMG! Sasuke! What happened to your mouth?"

Sasuke wiped his mouth with his sleeve and calmly said, "Nothing."

Naruto glared into the air, his fists covered with blood, which was dripping all over the floor.

Sakura looked at both of them, horrified. But Sasuke knew a part of her probably loved having two guys fighting over her.

Then the store owner came and kindly told Naruto and Sasuke to leave.

Naruto jumped out a window and Sasuke walked away, slightly embarrassed.

Getting kicked out of a ramen booth. This was going to do wonders for his reputation.

He felt a soft hand hovering on his shoulder.

He turned around to find Sakura, looking as worried as ever.

He didn't have time to deal with her insecurities and questions right now. So he walked away.

"Okay then, you don't have to pick me up. I'll just see you at the party?" He heard Sakura ask.

When Sasuke walked into Kiba's house, he wasn't surprised to see every 14 year old in the village hanging out there. Every room was crowded with people. The guys were playing Foosball, the girls were gossiping. Some people were watching a movie, texting or playing video games. Music was blasting so hard it gave him a headache. Soda was spilled everywhere and chips were all over the floor.

He saw Ino surrounded by a bunch of guys, playing spin the bottle. She was laughing and having a great time. She was wearing her hair out of it's usual ponytail, and it was curly.

Wow.

When she saw him staring, she waved and gestured for him to come over.

He politely shook his head and walked away. He hadn't had his first kiss yet, and even though it may seem lame, he wanted it to be with someone he liked. Not Sakura, or a bunch of slutty, desperate girls he didn't even know.

He found Naruto and some guys playing Xbox and eating ramen. Typical. Naruto looked at him, but turned back to his game.

Hinata was sitting nearby, cheering quietly every time Naruto scored a point. Weird. Hinata didn't seem like a gamer.

Sakura was wearing tons of makeup, which, in the heated room, was slowly melting off. She was wearing a totally slinky, black dress inappropriate for any 14 year old girl. She was surrounded by a bunch of girls, dressed similar to her. They were all squealing and giggling at something Sakura was saying. She was probably telling them about their "date." He found it kind of creepy they cared so much.

He figured that since he came to this party with Sakura, he should probably say hi.

He walked over and Sakura hugged him tightly. "Sasuke! You came!" He just stood there.

Sakura turned to the girls and said, "You should have seen him earlier. He was fighting over me with Naruto! It was so romantic!"

The girls all sighed. "Awwww!"

"Now if you guys don't mind, I think we're ready for some alone time." Sakura winked, and the girls giggled.

She dragged him over to some guys pouring soda.

"Sakura." Sasuke said calmly. "I wasn't fighting over you. Naruto punched me because he was mad I took you to this party. He really likes you."

Sakura shrugged. "Who cares? I have you!"

She drank a cup of soda.

And another.

And another.

Soon she was so hyper and out of it, she poured some onto her dress.

Feeling hyper and tipsy, she fell over on a chair and giggled.

He sat down next to her and handed her a tissue to wipe away the soda. He was getting kind of tired of babysitting her.

She got up. "Let's kiss." She grabbed him.

He pulled away. "Sakura, no."

"You are SUCH a bore." Sakura said. "Come ON."

She pulled him over to where people were spinning the bottle. Now everyone was playing.

They sat down on opposite ends.

"My turn!" Kiba grinned deviously at some girls. "I love playing seven minutes of heaven."

He spun and landed on Hinata. He raised his eyebrows and gestured to a closet.

Hinata got up suddenly, tears in her eyes. "I can't."

"Why?" Kiba asked, embarrassed. "It's just a game Hinata."

They both turned to look at Naruto. Everyone knew he was the reason Hinata was hesitating.

She turned and ran, bursting into tears. Kiba followed her.

Sasuke turned to Naruto, expecting him to chase after her too, now knowing that she liked him.

But he didn't. He just casually grabbed the bottle and spun it.

What was going on with him?

And why was he still in the game? Hinata was gone. He couldn't be trying to spin for Sakura, could he?

It wasn't like Sasuke liked Sakura now. But they were kind of sorta dating now, and what kind of friend would Naruto be if he actually spun on Sakura and went into the closet with her? It was like an insult towards him. He'd be the laughingstock of the village.

The bottle spun and slowly stopped.

Right on Sakura.

Naruto got up and headed towards the closet, Sakura right behind him.

Sasuke just sat there, feeling sick. Sakura and Naruto both shot him a triumphant look, for different reasons.

Naruto, because Sasuke asked out his crush.

And Sakura, because...well, he refused to kiss her.

He couldn't believe he had gone around his entire life, ignoring people and treating them like trash.

He treated Sakura like crap, insulting her, turning her down, letting her make a fool of herself, and no doubt making her cry every night.

He made fun of Naruto on purpose, making him feel stupid and making himself look like a hero.

And now they were both snubbing him, at the same time.

He could feel Ino's sympathetic gaze on him. Then he realized some random girl had spun on him so got up and ran away.

"Fuck you!" She yelled.

Even in another room, he could feel people watching him. Had word already gotten out?

Girls whispering, guys pointing and laughing at the guy who's girlfriend was making out with another dude.

He walked around like a zombie, feeling confused, angry, and little hurt.

He sat down and at some chips. They tasted like cardboard on his tongue.

So he watched a movie for a while. A chick flick about a guy and girl falling in love and running off together on a horse.

Ugh.

"Sasuke?" Ino asked.

He turned and looked at her.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

He realized that she was the first person who asked him that.

"I guess." He answered.

Her eyes softened. "I'm sorry. About Sakura and Naruto. But you'll forgive them. You're a team, and you can't let it fall apart over some stupid game. You'll always protect and care for them."

He nodded.

"So how many hot guys did you kiss today?" Sasuke asked, changing the topic.

"None." She replied nervously. "I'm a lip virgin."

She nodded.

"Really?" Sasuke asked. "Me too. That's why Sakura's kissing Naruto. Because I wouldn't kiss her.

They were both silent for a while.

Was she gonna kiss him? Would that be wrong? Sakura was kissing Naruto right now, so...

But then he realized that that would make him just as bad as Sakura, kissing someone just for revenge.

"Uh, Ino?" Shikamaru interrupted.

"What?" She asked, sounding slightly annoyed.

"Yeah, you better come. And you too, Sasuke."

Sasuke looked questioningly at Shikamaru. "What? Why?"

He just shook his head. "It's Sakura."

Even though he was extremely mad at her, she was his teammate.

So he (reluctantly) followed Ino and Shikamaru.

What he saw was extremely disturbing.

Sakura was surrounded by a bunch of guys, about five. Her clothes were ripped and she was bleeding.

Naruto was lying on the ground, looking beat up. He was a bloody mess.

Sakura was crying as the guys held onto her hair and taunted her. One of them held a knife and was slowly chopping her hair off.

The guys all cackled as strands of Sakura's hair fell everywhere.

"If you had just kissed me, this all could have been avoided." The guy snarled.

"Oh my gosh, Sakura!" Ino yelled.

She ran over and punched the guy in the face. The guy dropped the knife and fell backwards, holding onto his face in pain.

She carefully helped Sakura over to a corner, healing the major wounds.

Shikamaru woke Naruto up and dragged him over to where Ino and Sakura were.

Sasuke walked right up to the guys bothering his friends. Sure they snubbed him, but if he hadn't wandered off, he would have been able to protect them from these guys. How dare he hurt his teammates?

He punched the guy again, and kicked another one in the shins. He fell over like a sack of potatoes.

He grabbed the third guy's neck and squeezed it.

Everyone watched in a stunned silence. Was he going to kill him?

The guys he had beaten up were sprawled all over the floor and watched in horror, but didn't dare move.

Sakura was wailing and crying, begging him to stop.

"Sasuke! Please Just stop!" Ino cried out.

Her voice brought him back to reality. So he stopped squeezing and dropped him on the floor.

"You can't go around treating girls like that." Sasuke told them, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

By now, everyone had gathered, and was watching in awe. A part of Sasuke felt glad that he had redeemed himself. Nobody would be talking behind his back now.

He looked at the guys, still on the floor. "And don't ever touch my friends again. If you do, I'll be forced to kill you."

He glared at him. "Now get the hell out of here."

They scrambled out, and everyone returned to what they were doing. But not before congratulating Sasuke.

A bunch of girls surrounded him, cooing over him. But they all backed away when Sakura walked up to him. He simply looked at her.

Her hair was a mess, which was all scraggly and tangled. Her outfit was completely ripped and splattered with blood. There were tears in his eyes.

She obviously thought she was going to get a kiss, or a speech from him, saying that nobody could touch his girl. But he just walked away.

So she ran after him and hugged him.

It was completely quiet as Sakura cried into his shoulder. "Oh Sasuke. I'm sorry I kissed Naruto. I'm sorry. I love you."

Naruto was awake now, and when Sasuke made eye contact with him, he looked down, ashamed. "I'm sorry." He mouthed.

He turned to look at Ino for a second. There was something in her eyes that he didn't understand. Was she warning him? Telling him not to dump Sakura?

Sasuke turned to Naruto and simply nodded, accepting his apology. And he accepted Sakura's apology too. But he didn't love her.

So he threw her off and grunted.

He walked up to Kiba. "Great party, man."

He turned to Naruto, Ino, and Shikamaru.

There was admiration in Shikamaru's eyes. And Ino just looked at him, looking a little angry, and a little impressed as well.

"See you later, Sasuke!" Naruto said.

"Bye Sasuke." Some girls fawned.

Sakura was in a heap on the floor, still crying and begging him to reconsider.

He walked out without looking back.

Worked reallllly hard on this chapter. Please review, guys!


	3. Chapter 3

"It hurts so much." Sakura wailed.

"I know." Ino said sympathetically.

Ino was fixing Sakura's hair, trying to even it up. The result was pretty cute, even though it only went up to her chin. It was slightly messier and spikier then her usual long, smooth, silky hair.

"But you did deserve it." Ino said. "You tried to force Sasuke to kiss you, and when he didn't, you kissed Naruto to get back at him. I swear, when i saw him, he looked so depressed and confused; poor guy."

"You were with him?" Sakura asked suspiciously. Her eyes flashed.

"Yeah." Ino replied. "For a couple minutes."

"Were you making out?" Sakura demanded, jumping up. "Was he trying to get back at me?"

"No!" Ino snapped. "We didn't kiss. Sasuke has more class then that. And do you honestly think I'm a such a slut that I'd make out with my best friend's boyfriend? Now shut up and sit down before I cut your ear off."

Sakura was obviously seething. But she obediently sat down. Ino got back to working on Sakura's hair. Her bangs were a total mess. "And now you and Naruto are completely ignoring him. When it's you two who made the mistake." She said forcefully. "And Sasuke saved you from..."

Sakura sniffled. "I know. But things are just so awkward now."

Somehow, word got around about Kiba's party, and all the events that took place.

Sakura making out with Naruto, instead of her boyfriend, Sasuke saving them both from a bunch of creepy, pervy guys who were trying to abuse Sakura, and Sakura getting dumped right after saying the three magic words.

And for some reason, word got around that Sasuke kissed Ino.

All they really did was have an innocent conversation. She had given him the courage he would later need to fight off a bunch of weirdos and make his mind up about who his true friends were.

He was guessing that Shikamaru had accidentally mentioned that he found Sasuke and Ino together to Sakura, and she'd spread a rumor about them kissing out of jealousy.

Or maybe to try to make herself look a little less guilty, considering she kissed Naruto. Not that it was working. He'd heard a bunch of girls gossiping about how she was a huge slut. He wondered how much popularity she had gained dating him, and then lost when he dumped her.

Anyway, he was glad Naruto had kind of forgiven him. Even though they weren't best friends anymore. Sure they hung out, and Naruto was grateful Sasuke saved him. But he knew a part of Naruto still wasn't ready to forgive Sasuke. Maybe he never would be.

But Sakura was still a mess. He knew he had broken her heart, but maybe it was for the best. She was stupid, and not yet mature enough for a relationship. Maybe now she would focus on her training. He couldn't protect her forever. If he hadn't shown up when he did...

And things got super awkward between the three of them. Note to self: Dating a teammate who your other teammate likes, will result in a messy break up and awkward, endless hours of team training.

He knew that he messed up with both of them, but he wasn't the only one who'd made a mistake.

Still, he noticed Sakura and Naruto growing more and more distant from him and closer to each other. Sometimes they went out to lunch without him. If he and Naruto were still close, he would have congratulated him.

Oh well. He'd find a way to fix things with them.

The rookie nine had all traveled to the Sand Village. They, along with many Leaf Shinobi, had been invited to some big, formal event. Celebrating the 50th year of the Sand/Leaf Village alliance.

When they got there, everyone grouped up with their friends to either shop for clothes to wear to the party or just get a bite to eat.

Naruto and Sakura went to grab some lunch with Ino.

"Do you want to join us, Sasuke?" Ino asked.

He knew she was only being polite. It was the first time she had talked to him since after Kiba's party.

Naruto and Sakura looked at the floor.

A part of Sasuke noticed how neat and clean, if short, Sakura's hair was. The other part was desperate for the three of them to become friends again.

He shook his head. "Thanks, but I'm meeting someone for tea."

Feeling like a loser, he sat quietly and drank his tea alone. Surrounded by happy couples.

"Hey." Temari walked up to his table and sat down.

"Hn." Sasuke wasn't sure why she was here.

Temari (enter last name here) was a ninja of the Sand village, and a good one at that. Her techniques were deadly. She was related to Kankuro and Gaara. She was a little older, and kinda hot. She had beautiful eyes.

Sasuke relalized that he had found his next target.

Then he remembered she had a thing for Shikamaru. But then again, he wasn't here. And she was the one who walked up to him.

"So. Do you always hang out alone? Where are all your fangirls?" Temari asked, crossing her legs.

He found it odd that she wasn't put off by his coldness.

"I ditched them. And I like being alone." Sasuke took a sip of his tea. It burned his tongue and he accepted it as a punishment for his stuck up comment when he saw the disgusted look on her face.

Did she think he was an annoying little squirt? He wanted her to think he was a hot, desirable guy, like all the Konoha girls did. His experiment was at stake here.

Man, older girls were even more complicated then girls like Sakura.

"As long as it's not fangirls, I enjoy other people's company." Sasuke said, hesitating. Did he sound too eager and desperate?

She smiled. "It's okay. I like being alone sometimes too. So I don't have to deal with everyone's bullshit."

Sasuke put his tea down. "Exacty."

Now that the ice was broken, they talked about stuff. Politics, the weather, their villages. Anything.

And he really enjoyed talking to someone who treated him like a human. When he was dating Sakura, she was always fidgeting and giggling like an idiot. And she just agreed with whatever he said, never challenging him. But Temari was different.

Soon the conversation turned to the big celebration party. Apparently, it was going to be a big deal.

"It's like a Masquerade Ball." Temari explained. "We've been planning this for a long time. And we worked really hard to make it all perfect, to impress you guys. We spent a lot of money. The other day, my brothers were yelling at me for hanging a banner crooked." She laughed.

"Wow. I'm impressed." Sasuke smirked. And he really was flattered, being treated like such an honorable guest.

"I still don't have a date yet." Temari pouted. "A couple of guys asked me, but..."

Sasuke didn't know what to do. Was she telling him to ask her?

Just as he was about to make a move, Kankuro sat down next to Temari, and Gaara sat next to Sasuke.

"Are you guys here on a date? Has anyone told Shikamaru?" Kankuro asked, mischievously.

Temai rolled her eyes. "I was just welcoming him properly. We were only hanging out."

Gaara stared at Sasuke with beady eyes. It made him feel uncomfortable. He was starting to sweat. Man, it was hot in this village.

Annoying, over-protective brothers of a girl he was (almost) dating were not something he was used to.

They had a couple awkward conversations, but it wasn't nearly as fun as when it was just Temari and him.

"So, Sasuke." Kankuro said. "How do you like our village?"

"It's pretty awesome. Kind of different then our village..." Sasuke saw the look on their faces, so he added, "But I really like it. I hear you guys are hosting this big Masquerade ball?"

He honestly couldn't care less, but he wanted to make a good impression on these guys so they would approve of him dating his sister.

Kankuro swelled with pride. "Yeah, we bought this chocoloate fountain."

Sasuke raised his eyebrows.

"For the younger kids." Kankuro added quickly. "And there's this flower bouquet which has these amazing rare flowers that-"

"Kankuro." Temari interrupted. "Sasuke doesn't care about some stupid flower bouquet."

Sasuke hid a smile.

"I'm gonna go take Sasuke sight-seeing." Temari said, grabbing his hands. She stuck out her chin at them, daring them to follow.

Kankuro gulped and waved goodbye nervously, and Gaara glared at him with piercing eyes.

Sasuke didn't have a little sister, so he didn't get the protective-older-sibling thing. His heart ached for a second.

Temari showed him a huge, impressive wall that acted as a gate. There was a scratch in it, as if something had smashed it. He later found out it was made by a demon, years ago. She took him to a garden with rare flowers and medical herbs, that were said to be ancient and hundreds of years old. She showed him something that looked like a huge sandbox. She explained that this was ancient sand, which the Sand village believed that legendary ninjas had walked on. Sasuke thought that was completely crazy but, to each it's own.

She showed him some of her favorite training fields.

Then she walked him over to his hotel. It started raining quickly, drenching their clothes. At first they tried to avoid it, but they just laughed and enjoyed the cold, refreshing water. They splashed each with muddy puddle water.

When they reached his hotel, they both found Kankuro and Gaara waiting for them.

"Hey sis," Kankuro said with a big smile.

"We wanted to make sure Sasuke found his way to the hotel all the Leaf ninja are sharing." Gaara said in a low voice, staring at him.

Sasuke knew they were only there so he wouldn't be able to ask Temari to the dance.

But he knew he couldn't show up without a date, and he needed to continue his experiment.

"See you at the dance." Temari said, and the three sand ninja turned to leave.

"Wait." Sasuke said.

She raised her eyebrows, her expression hopeful.

Kankuro looked amused, and Gaara looked furious.

Sasuke walked up to Gaara. "I'm asking for your permission to escort Temari to the Masquerade ball."

He would have preferred asking Kankuro, the older brother, but that would make him look like a chicken. He needed to prove that he wasn't afraid Gaara.

Sasuke stared right into his intimidating eyes, remembering that back in his village he was the one who scared people and made them uncomfortable. If he wanted to.

Temari looked at him, admiring his courage. Obviously no one ever stood up to Gaara like that.

Gaara cleared his throat. "Well. I appreciate you asking me. It takes a real man to do that."

"Yeah, a man who wants to die." Kankuro muttered. Temari bonked him on the head.

"Who asks for permission like that? It's so old fashioned." Kankuro said, only to be smacked again by Temari.

"I think it's brave. And romantic." Temari smiled. "No guy has ever done that before. How mature. Consider it a yes. I'll be your date."

"I didn't actually approve yet," Gaara protested.

"Oh shut up, baby brother." Temari snapped. "I'm the one supposed to be approving of your playdates. You're not the one who's supposed to be approving my boyfriends."

Kankuro laughed.

Boyfriends? Woah.

"I'm going with him, okay? Now quit glaring at him, you're creeping him out." She smiled playfully. "And seriously, lighten up. Maybe then you can find your own date. It's only a few days away."

"See you there, Sasuke." She winked before they walked away.

He found the hotel room he was sharing with Naruto. When he opened the door, he found Sakura practically sitting on Naruto's lap.

"I'm sorry, am I interrupting something?" Sasuke asked, amused.

Sakura jumped off. "Oh! I-"

Sasuke saw Naruto blush for the first time ever.

"Well. If you guys are busy, I can go wait outside. It's not raining too hard, I mean, I'm already wet." Sasuke said, leaning against the door.

"Or you can go in Ino's room." Naruto chirped, obviously trying to be helpful. "Sakura's here, so you can be alone with Ino-"

Sakura slapped him. "He's being sarcastic! Idiot!"

"Way to ruin the mood, Uchiha." Naruto grumbled, but Sasuke knew he was joking.

Sasuke's heart raced. Alone with Ino? Why did Naruto say that? Not that he cared. He just didn't want Temari to find out. Were rumors spreading about him again? "Whatever. I'll just hang out in the lobby till you guys are done."

He grabbed a towel to dry his hair and walked down the hall.

"Temari. Seriously. Why are you doing this?" A voice said.

Sasuke stopped by the door. Eavesdropping was pathetic, normally. His fangirls did it, Naruto did it. But this was a special case.

"Temari why are you being so difficult? God, this is such a drag."

So it was Shikamaru yelling at Temari on the phone. And he had a sick feeling in his stomach. It was his fault.

God. First he decided to date Naruto's secret (well, not THAT secret) crush, and now he was taking Shikamaru's on again, off again, girlfriend to a dance?

Seriously?

"Temari, I'm sick of your games. Why are you taking Uchiha to the dance?"

Sasuke swallowed.

"What do you mean I'm sexist and controlling? You women always overreact."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. Nice one, Shikamaru.

"I don't care if he had the guts to ask your brother for permission. I know I never did that. Why? Well because it's lame! And Gaara is seriously scary. It's all such a drag."

Sasuke winced. Smooth.

"Temari? Hello? He-, ugh. Girls are so troublesome."

Shikamaru suddenly threw open the door.

Sasuke stiffened.

"Hey Sasuke. What? Wasn't Temari enough for you? Now you're gonna mess with Ino, too?" Shikamaru asked sarcastically.

Sasuke blinked and Shikamaru stormed off.

Ino walked out. A part of Sasuke felt embarrassed he was caught snooping, and the other part was wondering exactly how close Ino and Shikamaru were. She was in his room, listening to him talk to his ex girlfriend on the phone.

"Hey." She smiled brightly. "So. Breaking Sakura's heart and messing with Naruto wasn't enough. Now you're going after Shikmaru's girl."

Sasuke wondered what she meant by that.

"You're such a bad boy." Ino mused.

Sasuke smirked. "Whatever. So. Who are you going with?"

"Shikamaru." Ino shrugged. "I mean I love that guy like a brother, but he needed a date. We're just friends."

Sasuke nodded.

"So why are you wet? Hot date with Temari by the swimming pool? " Ino laughed.

He rolled his eyes. She was exactly like Naruto. Except smarter. And prettier. "Actually she was showing me around and it started raining."

"Oh." Ino said.

"Yeah. So, I'll see you at the dance." Sasuke said. Ino smiled and closed the door.

When he made it back to his own room, he was relieved to know he wasn't walking into anything.

"Hey." Nauro said. "We hung out all day. But when I asked her to the dance, Sakura rejected me." He chuckled nervously.

"If I ask her to go with you nicely, maybe she'll say yes." Sasuke joked.

Naruto laughed. "So. What's this I hear about you dating Temari?"

"Just taking her to the dance." Sasuke answered, changing shirts.

"Why are you chasing all these taken girls? Are single girls not enough a challenge for you?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke shrugged.

"Seriously." Naruto asked. "Why?"

"It's an...experiment." Sasuke mumbled, his face getting red. The only reason he was telling Naruto was because their friendship was already so rocky. He couldn't let Naruto get mad at him again.

"Experiment?" Naruto's ears perked up.

"Yeah. I just date a bunch of girls, so I can understand them better." Sasuke explained. "Sakura was my first-"

"Your FIRST?" Naruto asked, rapt with attention.

"No." He snapped. "Perv. My first test subject."

Naruto giggled. "That sounds so wrong."

"God, you're exactly like Ino." Sasuke blurted, then the look on Naruto's face made him wish he had kept his mouth shut.

"You better not be cheating on Temari with Ino." Naruto said deviously. "Shikamaru would kill you. He already hates you."

"I'm not." He muttered. Why did it matter if Shikamaru hated him? After all, he had always been way more popular with girls than guys.

"Did you even kiss Sakura?" Naruto asked, suddenly.

Sasuke shook his head.

"Temari?" He shook his head again.

"I did." Naruto said smugly. "Sakura, I mean." Then he faltered. "Well, it was just a spin the bottle thing."

No, it was a revenge thing. And I was there. Remember?

They were both quiet for a while.

"Get Sakura to dance with me at the party, just once." Naruto said, fire in his eyes.

Sauske was startled. "Well, I'll try, but-"

"I mean it Sasuke. If she doesn't, then I'll tell everyone about your little experiment."

Sasuke's eyes widened. If this got out, then-

Nartuto was a total ass. Sasuke had confided in his best friend, only to end up being blackmailed by him.

"Deal?" Naruto held out his pinky.

If this got out, it might ruin his reputation. He'd somehow have to set Sakura up with Naruto and spend the dance with Temari.

What choice did he have? God, was this karma because of him dumping Sakura and hurting Naruto and Shikamaru?

"Deal." He shook.


	4. Chapter 4

Sasuke's mind reeled. How was he going to get Sakura to dance with Naruto? He had barely talked to her since he dumped her.

He decided he could deal with that at the dance.

So he dressed up in a suit and tie and, of course, a mask (it _was _a masquerade ball).

Naruto's mask was ridiculous. It resembled a lion. And even though he had cleaned up pretty well, he still refused to wear formal shoes.

"But why can't I wear black shoes with white socks?" Naruto whined.

"It's not classy, Naruto." Sasuke sighed, frustrated. It was like talking to a five year old.

Naruto stomped his foot. "Screw this, I'm wearing sneakers."

So they headed to the dance.

And Temari was right. They really had gone all out for this party. It was amazing. There were banners and balloons, and beautiful Suna flowers blooming everywhere. There was a breathtaking glass chandelier at the top. Tables and tables were full of the tastiest delicacies, and the floor itself was amazing. It was white and polished, and huge, so everyone could dance. On either sides of the room, there were stairs leading up to the top, where there were special seats custom made just for the Hokages, and other important ninja.

Lady Tsunade was already there, chatting it up with the Kazekage. He saw his own sensei, engaged in a serious conversation instead of reading his book.

Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara were there as well.

And Temari looked...great.

She was wearing a white gown that looked just amazing on her. Her hair was out of its ponytails and Sasuke never knew it was so long. She had little white flowers in her hair. He wished they weren't all wearing masks soon so he look at her eyes all day.

"Don't forget our little deal." Naruto muttered in his ears before he walked away.

Crap. He remembered.

He decided to find Temari first. He took a deep breath and climbed the stairs, to the top.

"Ah. Sasuke." Lady Tsunade said. "I'd like you to meet the Kazekage of the Sand village."

"Nice to meet you." Sasuke said, slightly intimidated by the his steady stare. His eyes were sharp, but gave away no emotion.

"Come on, Sasuke. Let's go and mingle." Temari grabbed his hands and led him down the stairs. As he left, he saw Kakashi raise his eyebrows at him. Sasuke just rolled his eyes.

"Kankuro's just dying for you to see his chocolate fountain." Temari muttered.

Sasuke chuckled, despite the fact that he could feel Gaara staring daggers at the back of his head.

When they reached the bottom, he looked around. "This place looks pretty amazing."

She beamed at him.

"And, you look pretty amazing too." He finished, handing her some flowers.

"Thanks. And I adore these flowers. It adds a Konoha touch to this place." She winked and weaved them into her wavy hair.

They headed over to the snack table. They found Naruto, Ino and Sakura hanging out there.

"Hey guys." Temari said.

"Hi Temari! Hi Sasuke." Naruto said happily.

Ino was wearing a white dress as well. He noticed her hair was all wavy, like Temari's.

Sakura was wearing the same outfit, and her hair was wavy too. She avoided his eyes.

"All the girls decided to go with wavy hair and the same dress. To make it harder for the guys to tell who's who when we're all dancing in our masks." Ino said mischievously.

Sasuke wondered how she had read his mind, then remembered she came from the Yamanaka clan, a prestigious clan that focused on the mind.

And when was Temari talking to his friends, anyway? He wondered if they talked about him. And if Sakura told her how he dumped her.

Ino glanced at Sakura and gave her a look he didn't understand.

"Oh!" Sakura said, ignoring Sasuke. "Let me introduce you to all our friends." She dragged her away, leaving him with Ino.

He cleared his throat.

"Sasuke, look. Sakura wants you to set her up with Rock Lee. She wants to dance with him, but he's too busy hitting on all the Suna girls. If you get him to dance with her once, she'll forgive you." Ino said bluntly.

Her similarities with Naruto were...wow.

Then something in his mind clicked.

"No. Ino, wait. I promised Naruto I'd help make sure Sakura would dance with him. Now I have to get Lee to dance with Sakura? And do you know I actually came to this thing with my own date?" Sasuke glared at her.

Ino's eyes hardened. "Whatever. Just do it."

"How?" He murmured, feeling helpless.

Her eyes softened. Then she smiled mysteriously. "You'll figure it out." She walked away.

"Wait." Sasuke said.

She turned around.

"Where's Temari?" He asked.

"She's with Sakura. I thinks she wants you to ask her to dance." Ino smirked.

"I don't know how." Sasuke looked down. If his clan hadn't been slaughtered, he would have grown up like royalty. And learned to dance like royalty. But he spent all his time alone, and never came to dances. And he wasn't going to make a fool of himself in front of everyone.

She gasped. "Seriously? I'll teach you."

They danced for a few songs, and he messed up a lot.

But he eventually picked it up.

"You're a natural." Ino laughed as he twirled her.

"Thanks." He said gratefully, as the song ended.

"There's Temari." she whispered. "Good luck." And she was gone.

Sasuke slowly walked over to her. "Hey."

"Hi." She smiled brightly.

"May I have this dance?" He asked formally.

She giggled and nodded as she led him to the dance floor.

They danced for a couple songs, and they talked the whole time.

He stepped on her feet a few times, but she didn't mind.

He couldn't help feeling slightly disappointed. When he was dancing with Ino, he felt free. But when he was dancing with Temari, he felt everyone's eyes on him, judging him. Waiting for him to mess up.

Suddenly, a bell chimed.

"Alright." Lady Tsunade stood. "Everyone, put on your masks. Then we'll turn the lights off and everyone dances. After an hour, we'll turn on the lights and if you're dancing with you're original partner, you win." She smiled.

That seemed pretty impossible. The girls were all dressed the same, wearing masks, plus it would be dark. He'd have to dance with Temari the entire time.

"Oh, and you have to switch partners every time we yell switch." She smiled.

Then again, it was just a stupid game. He had friendships to patch up.

"Ready. Set. _Dance."_

They played Britney Spear's _Till The World Ends__, _and he danced with Temari, keeping his eyes on Sakura and Shikamaru, who were dancing nearby. He could tell it was them by Shikamaru's ponytail and Sakura's striking pink hair.

When they yelled switch, he quickly switched with Shikamaru, not caring about how awkward it would be for Temari to dance with her ex.

Selena Gomez's song, _Love Will Remember _played. Uh, Awkward.

"Sasuke?" Sakura squinted.

"Yeah." He said.

_Now's all we got. And time can't be bought. I know it inside my heart. Forever will forever be ours. Even if we try to forget. Love will remember._

"When you asked me out, I felt like I was a princess in a fairytale. Popular girls were calling me, talking to me. Everyone knew me. It felt like a dream."

_Love will remember. _

"I will always cherish our times together, Sasuke." She smiled peacefully.

_Love will remember. _

Sasuke remembered their times. The ice cream. The walk in the park. The carnival. The teddy bear. Kiba's party.

"You were the first girl I ever asked out, Sakura. You're my teammate, and friend, and I'll always care about you." Sasuke said. A month ago he never would have imagined saying those words, but now he felt like he understood Sakura a little better.

She giggled. "You are so hot."

She coughed, "I mean, I'll always care about you too."

_All your promises. All the things we had. What happened to that? What happened to that?_

"I wish you'd change your mind." Her lips quivered.

He shook his head. 'I'm sorry."

_Boom gone. Yeah, we move on. Even if we try to forget...love will remember._

"But you know what, Sakura? You could do so much better then me." he spun her.

"Really?" She asked, her hair flying.

"You've been spending a lot of time with Naruto." He chose his words carefully.

_Love will remember._

_Love will remember._

_Love will remember._

"I really think he likes you, so you should give him a chance. He treats you so well-"

"Sasuke." She shook her head and smiled.

"You're right. Forget Rock Lee. I really like Naruto, and I'm going to dance with him." She said.

_Break down the walls, let heaven in..._

_Somewhere in forever, we'll dance again._

_We used to be, inseparable. I used to think that I was irreplaceable._

_We lit the whole world up;_

_before we blew it up._

_I still don't know just how we screwed it up._

"Thank you, Sasuke." She whispered, and kissed his cheek. There were no fireworks, nothing like that. It just felt like skin on skin.

_Forever. Foreveeeeer._

_Love will remember you, and love will remember me. I know it inside my heart._

When the song ended, he saw Sakura give him one last smile, and then switch with Naruto's partner, so she was finally dancing with him. He gave Sasuke a grateful grin.

Sasuke turned to find Temari, but what he saw shocked him. She was leaning into Shikamaru and they were on full on lip lock mode.

He was quiet as the first few beats of Taylor Swift's_ You Belong With Me _started.

Why did every girl he dated feel the need to cheat on him?

Was this karma?

Was this _fair?_

"Sasuke?" The girl he was dancing with said, sounding worried. But she wouldn't understand. She was just some random Suna girl.

"Just shut up and had dance with me." He said, gritting his teeth.

She hugged him, and for the rest of the song, he let her hold onto him.

She was comforting, and she smelled like flowers.

He felt so stupid. Stupid for trying to go around and stealing everyone's girlfriends. Stupid for thinking he could date an older girl. Stupid for letting himself start to like her, and believe that he could be in a happy relationship. Stupid for forgetting this was just an experiment and nothing else.

_You belong with me. You belong with meeee. Have you ever thought, just maybe...you belong with me..._

"Now, remove your masks." Lady Tsunade bellowed, just as she switched on the lights.

Sasuke squinted as his eyes adjusted to the dark. Beautiful, blue eyes stared back at him with sympathy.

_You_ _belong with me._

"Ino?" He said, confused. And slightly embarrassed, for the first time in his life.

Suddenly, there was a collective gasp. Everyone turned to see Shikamaru and Temari kissing.

They realized the room had gotten eerily quiet, so they broke apart. Temari gasped and blushed, and her eyes darted from side to side as if she had been caught doing something illegal. Which, in a way, she was.

She turned to face Sasuke. "Sasuke, you don't understand, I-"

He shook his head, and walked out the door, Temari on his heels.

He sat on the other side of a fence that sat on a big hill that overlooked the village. Temari leaned against the fence for a while, not saying anything.

They quietly watched the sun set.

"Sasuke." Temari said. "When you asked me to the dance, I felt like a princess. It felt like a fairy tale. A handsome guy, asking me to a dance."

"Why do all girls think relationships are like fairy tales? Not everything in life is perfect." Sasuke grumbled.

Temari stared at him, shocked. Then she burst out laughing. "Fair enough." her eyes twinkled.

Then her mood shifted. "Sasuke, I'm really sorry about Shikamaru. We've just liked each other for so long, and it was dark and there was music playing and we just got carried away-"

"I get it. It's hard to move on from your ex."

"So you're not mad?" She asked.

"Nope."

And he really wasn't. Shikamaru and Temari were practically made for each other. Their feelings were too deep to just throw away for a summer fling.

"So you'll take me back?" Temari sounded almost hopeful.

"No." Sasuke shook his head. "You're a great girl Temari, but I won't be here forever. I'm going back to my own village and a long distance relationship just isn't for me. And after what just happened...well. You and Shikamaru really love each other." Sasuke said.

"But we just had a massive fight."

"Work it out. Two people who love each other so much should be together." Sasuke couldn't believe these words were coming out of his mouth.

"You really are mature for your age." Temari teased. The sun was setting, and creating a beautiful veil of gold over her. She looked like a princess. The princess of Suna.

She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek, just like Sakura had.

They sat together in a comfortable silence for the rest of the evening.

Please review!


	5. Chapter 5

Thank you guys for the constructive criticism and compliments! It seriously made me so happy. Thank you for taking the time to review my story, it means so much to me. Here's another chapter. Sorry it's short. Anyway, hope you like it!

.

.

.

And so, after Sasuke's Suna romance was over, he settled back into life in the Leaf Village.

It was a nice day, so he decided to go for a walk to his favorite training field. He saw Naruto and Hinata in a heated discussion.

Weird. He thought Sakura was dating Naruto, not Hinata.

He snuck over by a tree and listened.

"Naruto...I really loved training with you." Hinata said, blushing, and fidgeting with her fingers.

"Me too!" Naruto chirped, oblivious to Hinata's discomfort.

"Um, I was wondering...if, um. If you're not busy, we-" Hinata twirled the strings on her hoodie and swallowed.

Aw. How sweet. She was going to ask him out. Usually puppy love made him sick, but he knew Hinata had liked Naruto for a long time. After all, why else would she get so nervous around him? And she did spend all of Kiba's party watching him play Call of Duty.

Wait. Hold the phone. Naruto was dating Sakura. Well, not officially, because he hadn't asked her to be his girlfriend, but they went on dates and liked each oth-

"Oh. Hold on a second." Naruto said. "I'm getting a call from Sakura." He smiled and picked up his phone.

Hinata's face looked heartbroken.

"Uh, yep. Yeah, I miss you too." Naruto laughed.

"Tell her I say hi." Hinata murmered, and walked away.

"Hinata says hi!" Naruto said happily, not even noticing that she had left.

This was pathetic.

No, this was painful.

The expression on Naruto's face changed.

"Sakura, all we did was train. I'm sorry, ok? Next time I'll train with you." Naruto said into the phone, desperately.

His face burned with shame as she hung up on him. "Sakura." He muttered.

Sasuke walked right up to him. "Naruto, we need to talk."

"Are you gonna break up with me?" He fake pouted.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Naruto, seriously. We need to talk about your relationship with Sakura."

Naruto hesitated, "I love her, but she's kind of-"

"Clingy? Dramatic? Annoying?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto shrugged. "She's mad at me for hanging out with Hinata."

"Maybe you should go out with her instead. She's nicer, calmer, and-"

Naruto glared at him. "Sasuke. Sakura is my dream girl. It took me a long time to gain her affection. Her dating you, Kiba's party, the fight with those creepy guys, the dance in the Sand Village. Everyday since I met Sakura, I've dressed better, trained harder, and complimented her every morning. And after getting rejected by her multiple times, I went to sleep every night, depressed. But now she finally likes me! So I'm gonna put up with all her little quirks, even if that means putting more work into our relationship and not hanging out with any girls."

Sasuke just stared at him. He'd never heard Naruto talk about his feelings on such a personal level. He had always known Naruto liked Sakura, but even after they became friends, they never had an actual conversation about it.

Who knew Naruto was so...deep?

"Naruto." Sasuke said carefully. "If a girl really likes you, you shouldn't have to change yourself to please her."

"I'll do anything to make Sakura like me!" Naruto insisted. Then he smirked. "And you're one to talk. You totally changed after you met Ino."

Sasuke's mind went blank. "What?" He asked, but his voice sounded confused and unsure, not forceful and intimidating.

"You've become a total softie since you met her." Naruto teased.

Sasuke just stared at him in disbelief. Was hanging out with Sakura, Temari, and maybe Ino, making him soft? And when had he ever hung out with Ino, anyway?

"Oh, and by the way. Don't worry. Your secret's safe with me." Naruto winked.

"I don't like Ino," Sasuke snapped. He couldn't believe he had let Naruto get to him.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "I mean, your little experiment. But yeah, that secret's safe too."

And he ran off before the young Uchiha could kick him in the face.

That evening, he was summoned to Lady Tsunade's office. He knocked on the door, fully aware he was ten minutes late.

"Come in." Lady Tsunade snarled.

Damn.

He let himself in and saw Hinata, Naruto, and Sakura. They looked worried.

Lady Tsunade was sitting gravely at her desk, waiting for him. She glared at him, but when he didn't flinch, she sighed.

"Uchiha. You finally decided to show up." She said, crossly.

Shizune, who was standing next to her, stiffened and forced a smile. "What matters more is that he's here."

"Why are you late? Couldn't tear yourself away from Ino?" Naruto asked, grinning. Sakura snickered.

Aw. They made up. How _cute. _Sasuke's face burned with shame, much to the amusement of Lady Tsunade. That old bat. "I just forgot." He muttered.

"Where is Ino?" Naruto asked curiously. "Can she come to this mission too?"

He turned to Sakura. "Wouldn't that be fun?"

"Totes." She said under her breath.

Sasuke felt his face heating up, and Lady Tsunade smirked at his discomfort. "She needs to work at the hospital. They need all the medics they can get."

She clasped her hands together. "I need you all to travel to a barren, faraway land. There's a special plant there that we need, in order to cure a new type of poison our medics have discovered. That's what Ino's working on." She glanced at Sasuke, who just looked away.

"Anyway. It's hidden in a cave. I'll provide you with a map. There might be some low key ninja you'll have to face; probably chunin level. You should have no trouble."

Sasuke saw Hinata sigh. It must be pretty awkward for her to go on this mission, after basically getting rejected by Naruto. And now she'd have to watch Sakura and Naruto flirting with each other the entire time.

They traveled quickly down the road. Naruto traced hearts on Sakura's back and she giggled, responding by tickling him. Sasuke shook his head in disgust. It was a good thing he didn't have a real girlfriend. Being in love just made people act stupid.

They walked through many clearings. When they got hungry, they ate apples off trees. They were able to follow the map pretty easily, there were no distractions or anything. No enemies. It was an easy, breezy mission.

Then disaster struck.

Well, not really.

They hit a field of corn, tomatoes, and other crops. And Naruto, as clueless as ever, ran ahead. Trying to show off in front of Sakura.

Suddenly, his foot got caught in a hook. Within seconds, he was hanging from a tree, captured in a net.

"Uh...guys? Help! HELP!" He struggled to get out, but it was useless.

Wow. This was sad. Did he act this desperate when he was with Temari?

"Naruto!" Sakura screamed. She made a big show of focusing her energy. He knew she was just showing off, because chakra control was her strength and this was her time to shine.

Oh, and she was showing off in front of Naruto, of course.

It was always Naruto saving her, so she must have been glad for the change. So she closed her eyes and formed a hand sign, channeling her inner chakra on the soles of her feet. She climbed the tree and pulled a kunai knife out of her pocket pouch, slowly started cutting through the net.

But it was no use. Which seemed strange. What net was so strong that a sharp kunai knife couldn't cut? One made out of stronger material, obviously. But why would anyone put a net up like that in the middle of nowhere?

Hinata walked calmly up the tree, walking as easily as if she were walking on the sidewalk. She formed her hands into a familiar seal. "Byakugan." Her pale eyes transformed, looking powerful. Using her hands, she chopped the net off from where it was attached to the tree branch. then she cut the rest of the net off with her chakra.

"Now what kind of net can't be cut by a knife?" Sasuke wondered. He thought it had been put out by farmers to catch thieves, but if it was made of such strong material...

"Thank you!" Sakura said, hugging Naruto. He just grinned at Hinata.

Sasuke expected Hinata's face to fall, or for her to blush. Something. But she just stared at the sky, looking almost...fierce. And definitely worried. Focused on the mission. "We need to get out of here."

"You guys are getting upset over nothing." Sakura said. "So the net is slightly more thicker. Who cares? It really doesn't matter."

"Ow." Naruto winced, scratching his legs. His entire body was covered in red rashes, which were getting worse by the second.

Hinata held up a part of the net. "There must be poison weaved into the net." She carefully put it into a Ziploc bag and put it in her pocket, to show the medics at the Leaf Village. After all, a net filled so discreetly with poison was rare, and plenty useful. It might be a step in the right direction to advance their security.

Sasuke watched Sakura rack her brain for information on healing Naruto's rashes. But her face looked empty.

"Let's set up camp." Sasuke said. But it was a statement, not a question. He knew Naruto's condition was pretty serious, considering the look on Hinata's and Sakura's faces. Plus, it was getting dark. If they were ambushed, it would be harder to fight and protect Naruto at the same time.

Sakura put some ointment on Naruto's hands and legs to soothe the pain.

Meanwhile, Sasuke started to set up two tents.

"Hey, cool. Two tents!" Naruto yelled. "I call sharing the tent with Sakura."

No. That was so not cool. He didn't want to share a tent with Hinata; he barely knew the girl. He did need a new victim for his experiment, but they were on a mission. They needed to focus. Besides, he did not want Sakura and Naruto making out all night. They were distracted enough already.

"No way. One is for guys, the other is for girls." Sasuke told Naruto, firmly.

"But." Naruto widened his eyes at Sasuke, who refused to budge.

Naruto glared at Naruto. Then he smirked. "Fine, whatever. You don't want me and Sakura hanging out in a tent."

Sasuke took a deep breath and focused on using his hammer.

Ping.

Ping.

Ping.

But you know, you'd do the same thing if Ino was here."

Sasuke clenched his teeth. Keep your calm, Sasuke. He was supposed to be the one messing with Naruto. Not the other way around.

Ping.

Naruto tapped a finger on his chin. "In fact..."

Ping.

Naruto leaned against a tree. "If she was here right now..."

Ping.

"You'd not only be sharing a tent, you'd be makin-"

Thwack!

"OUCH." Sasuke moaned. He shook his fingers to ease the pain, but it still burned.

"Sasuke, don't use a hammer if you're just going to hurt yourself." Sakura mused.

Ugh. Why were they all standing there, distracting him? Shouldn't they be helping him pitch the tent?

"Um, I'll take it from here," Hinata said softly.

Naruto grinned. "You need someone to heal that. Too bad you can't ask In-"

Sasuke shot him a look so cold it froze Naruto in his tracks. Even Naruto knew he was going too far.

Sasuke stuffed his hands in his pockets. "It's getting late. Get some sleep. I'll take the first shift. Hinata, you'll take the second. Then it's Sakura, and last is Naruto." Then he walked away. "I'm going to go get some water."

They just remained quiet, sensing he was annoyed as hell.

He couldn't believe Naruto had made such a big fool of him. What was with all the Ino jokes? He thought that Naruto would be grateful that he set Sakura up with him. Why was he picking on him so much?

Probably trying to look cool in front of Sakura.

He came back with a pail full of fresh water, only what he found shocked him.

Naruto was lying on the floor; bloody, wounded, and on the brink of death.

Sakura was sprawled over him, crying tears of sadness.

There were fifteen rouge ninja surrounding them, holding deaadly weapons in their hands.

And Hinata was standing in front of Naruto, in a confident stance. Her Byakugan was activated. Her eyes looking fierce, her expression confident.

Her hair was flying with every attack she made, and she had cuts and bruises all over her body.

But she was fighting bravely to save Naruto's life.

.

.

.

Um, ok, so I just read a review telling me to say...

I'll put the next chapter up when I get 10 more reviews! So if you want me to know what happens next, review, review, REVIEW! Thanks :)


	6. Chapter 6

I'm sorry guys, I got a case of the writers block. Haha. And I'm sorry for demanding more reviews. I feel guilty now. I got an anonymous review telling me to do that, and I thought that's what everyone did. Whoops. I really appreciate the amount of reviews I get now. Anyway! I hope you like this chapter!

.

.

.

Sasuke stood frozen with fear.

What was he supposed to do?

Running in there would just be irrational and stupid. He didn't have any reinforcements and there wasn't enough time to think of a plan.

What would Naruto do right now? Well, that was pretty obvious. He'd just run over, yelling insults and attacking blindly with his shadow clones. He'd probably waste all his chakra and try to finish them all with a rasengan.

Sakura would hide quietly behind the bushes and watch them fall into her traps that she had set up beforehand. Because she was just that smart. If that failed, she'd fight them until some backup would come through.

Kakashi would take them out easily, even catching up on his reading as he did.

Hinata would, well. Fight bravely, like she was right now.

Temari would take them out with her fan's powerful winds, Shikamaru would devise a clever scheme, and Ino-

"Aaaargh." A man yelled, nearly slicing his head off with a sword three times as big as him. It was a good thing he dodged it when he did.

He suddenly remembered something. On his first real mission in the Land of Waves, he remembered another time that he was frozen in fear. He had still been a young genin then. Their opponent had been so deadly, and it was the first time he had really put his life on the line. He remembered himself shaking in fear and locked into the same position, as if he couldn't move. But Kakashi's words had put him out of his trance.

_I won't let you die. _

"Thought you could sneak up on us, huh? What a wise-"

Sasuke suddenly remembered the six feet hunk of goon was still standing there and kicked him in the gut, and he doubled over in pain. Sasuke punched him in the face, and he was knocked out unconscious.

Sasuke picked up his sword, took a deep breath, and ran into the battle.

Just seconds ago, he was wondering what he should do in a situation like this.

And now he had his answer.

So he ran into battle to protect his friends.

Because he wasn't one to shy away from danger. He embraced it. Because the time when he was fighting was the time he felt alive.

He charged right in, as fast as he could, and started swinging his sword around. He cut the heads off clean on a few, and scratched the others so bad that they fell in pain. He saw blood and skin flying, and getting on his clothes.

He dropped his sword by Sakura so she'd have something to fight with, and jumped in the air.

He saw his friends look at him with awe.

Sakura was trying to use the big heavy sword, taking many of them down in the process. Hinata was moving like a whirlwind, sealing the enemies chakra with just one flick of her hand, and sending them flying with another. Sasuke formed a hand seal and blew fire all over them, letting the flames burn their dead bodies. The ones still alive begged for mercy, but he just stared at them with cold, unforgiving eyes. Watching the fire swallow them whole.

Sasuke landed on the ground and turned around, only to find an enemy ninja running towards Naruto, who was still looking as sick and pale as ever. The poison was really fast acting. Naruto looked like he was going to die. What the hell kind of person put poison that deadly into a freakin' net?

"You're mine, Nine Tailed Fox!" He snarled, and raised his dagger.

"Naruto!" Sakura cried out, running towards him. "Wait-"

At the last second, Hinata jumped in front of Naruto.

Sakura stopped and looked at her, tears streaming down her eyes.

They all watched, stunned.

Sasuke couldn't believe this. His knees felt shaky. He had just witnessed the single most selfless act anyone could commit.

Sacrificing your own life for the sake of someone else's.

Everything seemed like it was in slow motion. The ninja cruelly smiled at Hinata and slowly pushed his dagger into Hinata's stomach.

She gasped and her eyes bugged out. Blood dripped from her lips. She leaned forward in pain and clutched her stomach. But she held her ground and refused to move. She took one hit after another, and Naruto slowly opened his eyes.

He watched her in daze. "Hinata. What happened. Who-"

Then he turned to look at the guy with the dagger, who was grinning back, looked smug. "Me. It was me. What are you going to do about it?"

Naruto glared at him.

Hinata fell in exhaustion.

"Hinata." Naruto said, his voice clogged with emotion. "Why would you...?"

"Because, I-"

She coughed. "Because I love you."

Naruto stared at her in shock. "Hinata..."

He tried to get up, but it was useless.

The man laughed. "That's pathetic." Then he kicked Hinata, who was lying on the ground.

"That's it." Naruto exclaimed. "Aaaargh." There was suddenly a burst of red chakra and he growled. There was a look in his eyes.

A look of murder.

Naruto ran over and attacked him. He stared at him in surprise and let himself get tackled.

Naruto bit into his arm, his eyes flashing.

He cried out in pain. "Please! Stop!" He yelled and protested.

Naruto grabbed his neck and squeezed until he stopped.

"Naruto!" Hinata cried. She ran over and hugged him.

Sakura blinked. "He's my boyfriend." She hugged him as well.

Slowly, Naruto's eyes turned back to blue. He calmed down.

"Naruto?" Sasuke asked, trying to hide emotion from his eyes. He didn't see Naruto's Nine Tailed Fox form often, and it really shook him up when-

"I'm fine." Naruto said, forcing a laugh.

Suddenly, Sasuke sensed chakra. More ninjas?

He turned around, a kunai in his hand.

"Please don't kill me." Ino said in a mocking tone. Neji and Tenten were right behind her.

"We're reinforcements." She told him.

"Reinforcements?" His voice cracked for the first time in years.

She ignored him and went straight to Naruto. "Aw, Naruto are you okay?"

Hinata stepped back so Sakura and Ino could heal his minor wounds.

"Ino!" Naruto said, happily. Then, in a more serious tone, he asked, "Am I gonna be okay?"

Ino put her hands on her hips. "You were infected with a deadly poison from a foreign land!"

"A couple nights in the hospital, and you'll be just fine." Sakura kissed him on the cheek.

Hinata remained quiet and watched them.

"Uchiha." Neji said.

Sasuke turned to face him, not even realizing that he had been staring. It was just the way Ino healed Naruto, with her graceful fingers slowly sending out short bursts of chakra. Medical ninjutsu confused him almost as much as the female species.

And he was just dying to find out what was going to happen with Hinata, Sakura, and Naruto.

"_Uchiha._" Neji grumbled again.

"What?" He snapped.

"You kids are so cute." Tenten giggled. "Aren't they Neji?"

He shrugged. "Hn. I guess. We got the herbs. We were sent as backup from Lady Tsunade"

"A little too late." Sasuke rolled his eyes. "And if you were sent as backup, why did you get the scroll befor-"

"Naruto! What are you saying?" Sakura's shrill voice interrupted him.

"Women." Neji muttered. Tenten glared at him.

"I can't believe you're breaking up with me!" Sakura screamed. "I stood up for you! I protected you."

Naruto stared at her with pained eyes. "You're always trying to change me, Sakura. I always have to try so hard. And Hinata protected me. She was willing to give up her life for me."

She stared at him, shocked. "Give me a second chance. I-"

"So, what about us Naruto? Do you think you could, um. Maybe, uh... give me a chance?" She smiled cutely.

"I still have to think about it, Hinata." Naruto said, shyly.

She turned away.

"But Hinata? Thank you." Naruto grinned.

She smiled at him.

Tenten laughed and nudged Neji.

When they reached the village, Hinata turned to all of them.

"I'm, um. Having a piano recital, and uh, if you guys could come..."

"Sure!" Ino smiled. He couldn't believe she hadn't said a word to him the entire walk back.

"Looking forward to attending." Neji said politely, and walked off with Tenten.

Sakura was in tears, so she ran off. Ino right behind her, without looking back.

Sasuke walked off, but as he was leaving, he heard Hinata talking to Naruto.

"Naruto...I really...really like you. And I know you have a history with Sakura. You have feelings for both of us, but you have to choose. Come to my piano recital tomorrow...and I'll know. That you chose me."

Wow. Sasuke would have preferred to stay and grill Naruto about this. Naruto had two girls who were in love with him, and Sasuke couldn't even find a new girl for his experiment.

Unfortunately, he had some explaining to do. To Lady Tsunade. About a nearly failed mission. He sighed and knocked on the door. She couldn't be too mad. Besides, he had lived a full 14 years.

.

.

.

I know this chapter is kinda not focused on Sasuke, and I'm sorry I suck at writing fighting scenes. Haha. I feel guilty for asking for reviews for the next chapter, so I posted this one really quickly. Anyway, hope you liked it, please review. I'm torn about if I want Naruto to be with Hinata or Sakura, so let me know in your review :) thanks :)


End file.
